Chapter 105: Entering the Array, Meeting the Fire Qilin

The staff officer's expression flickered slightly, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief—he had not expected this young man sent by the Xue family to be so upright and principled, saving him considerable trouble; he hurriedly said, "Good, good, then I'll write it that way."

The wounded martial aristocrat on the ground roared in fury: "I don't want your pity!"

The leader struggled to his feet and said, "I'm going to the Fire Qilin Pavilion too!"

"My crimes are not your burden to carry!"

After all, these were sons of martial aristocratic families—there were always proud, unyielding men among them; once one took the lead, the others gritted their teeth, deciding that their dignity mattered more than being assigned to guard the cold palace or forbidden palace, and more importantly, they were not those empty vessels and food sacks.

They were genuine young martial officers with real ability, who had come here only because of Yuwen Lie's words.

Li Guanyi suddenly turned, kicked out one leg—the young man's face changed, he crossed his arms in front of himself to block it; his Wu Gong was already quite good, but he relied solely on physical strength, without releasing internal Qi or using sword qi or blade radiance.

Purely through flesh and bone, he was no match for even a single blow.

He was kicked two zhang away, his palms trembling, teeth clenched, eyes blazing at the young boy ahead; Li Guanyi held his sword with one hand, activated the cultivation method taught by his aunt, and a touch of noble arrogance appeared on his face as he said coolly, "What I have done, I alone shall bear responsibility—you—"

"Hmph."

"The defeated have no right to speak."

"If you're not convinced, come challenge me again next month!"

The martial aristocrat caught his breath.

After being swept aside by Li Guanyi's dragon-tendon, tiger-bone physique, he still managed to rise.

He sat upright, eyes defiant—not defeated, merely unwilling to yield: "Fine! This month, you win. Next month, we fight again—if I win, I'll take the punishment and go guard the Fire Qilin Palace!"

Others' faces changed: "This, Young General—"

The man looked barely seventeen or eighteen; he now waved his hand sharply, silencing the others.

His gaze burned steadily at his peer.

Li Guanyi knew he had passed this test.

He had not been reassigned to the Fire Qilin Palace—he had been provoked by these martial aristocrats, and after defeating them, he chose to accept the Jinwu Guard's punishment by going to the Fire Qilin Palace; this way, it was perfectly logical, and no one would suspect a thing.

After all, because Emperor Chen wished to use Li Guanyi as a whetstone to hone the martial aristocrats, and because of Yuwen Lie's words of false praise, most civil and military officials in court already knew.

It was only natural that these martial aristocrats came looking for trouble.

Li Guanyi turned, gripped his sword, faced away from the men behind him, then extended his right hand, pointing his finger at the young man—he paused, then suddenly jabbed downward.

"Then."

He replied: "I'll wait for you to lose again!"

These martial aristocrats were nearly enraged to the point of leaping—but even as they ground their teeth in fury, they could not help but shout "Good!" because of his bearing.

The young martial aristocrat steadied himself on his weapon and shouted: "Li Guanyi!"

"Next time, we will be the ones guarding the Fire Qilin Palace!"

"Remember that!"

Thus, the staff officer and the other Jinwu Guards who had been slacking off for years suddenly froze; they stared at these bruised, battered youths who were now shouting loudly and recklessly—and for a moment, they felt as if they were dreaming.

They felt dazed, absurd—how could these people willingly go to a forbidden palace with no profit and no excitement to guard?

They looked at those bruised, swollen faces, shouting curses yet glowing with spirit.

Unconsciously, they touched their own faces.

All they felt was rough skin and thick beards.

For some reason, a stifling discomfort settled in their chests.

They turned their heads and cursed: "They're insane."

"Actually wanting to compete for the duty of guarding the Fire Qilin Palace."

But they knew—they weren't competing for any object; it was a breath of youthful pride in their chests.

The staff officer bent low, picked up the scroll, recalled the faint, almost imperceptible tiger's roar—he hadn't seen it, but he had truly felt a thread of fear in his heart; he had originally planned to fabricate this incident, but Li Guanyi was after all the boy sent by Consort Xue.

He could only faithfully record everything.

Including the martial aristocrats' provocation.

And how Li Guanyi alone had knocked down nine sons of martial aristocratic families.

Among them were the eldest son of General Zhenwei, the second son of the Longxiang Guard commander, the son of a royal princess, the emperor's distant nephew; the strongest among them was the son of the deputy commander of the Night Gallop Cavalry—the very youth who had spoken up, called "Young General."

The Night Gallop Cavalry was one of the empire's elite armies.

Alongside Tie Futu and the Tiger Savages Cavalry, they were known as the Three Great Iron Cavalries of the realm.

In such armies, the commander-in-chief must be a member of the imperial clan; thus, the deputy commander was in truth the actual leader of the Night Gallop Cavalry.

These youths were nearly half the most elite of the younger generation of Chen's martial aristocratic families.

And yet they had been knocked down by a boy from a consort's family.

The staff officer faithfully recorded it all.

Including the words and demands his own wife had made to him.

He handed it all over honestly to the Jinwu Guard's superiors, who were then laughed at and scolded by the Yulin Central Colonel: "Clever little devil—you don't want to offend anyone. We know a staff officer is often powerless." He tossed the documents back, scolded: "Go prepare for your wedding!"—and the matter was dropped.

Xue Lao heard of Li Guanyi's handling of the matter, drank heartily, laughed uproariously, then did not get angry—only patted Li Guanyi on the shoulder and said bluntly: "Next time, keep hitting them. These people are like this—you knock them down, then they'll respect you."

"You have to knock them down before they'll listen to reason."

"But—you really intend to guard the Fire Qilin Palace?"

Li Guanyi said: "One man's deeds, one man's responsibility."

"A word spoken cannot be recalled, even by four galloping horses."

Xue Daoyong nodded: "The Fire Qilin Palace… is the most complex of the seven forbidden palaces in the imperial court. It's said the Emperor gathered sorcerers from across the land, offered them vast sums to come to Chen, and then those sorcerers vanished—if they're not dead, they're probably in the Fire Qilin Palace."

"These sorcerers each possess unique arts, blending physical cultivation with magical techniques."

"There are many taboos—be careful if you serve there."

Li Guanyi nodded.

After this, the major military merit families fell suddenly silent; the young warriors from these families, who had planned to beat Li Guanyi and ride out that night as night riders, now stayed within the Jinwu Guard, training fiercely.

They held back a fierce urge to fight Li Guanyi.

During a banquet held for them, one young warrior from a military family smiled and flattered:

"I heard that the nephew of the Xue family's imperial in-laws dared to provoke several junior generals and was exiled to the Fire Qilin Palace to suffer—what an overreaching toad! A mere imperial in-law, how dare he challenge the military merit families who have won glorious victories for our Great Chen?"

The young warrior who had been beaten earlier, who had been drinking, immediately swung his wine jar down and roared:

"Who are you calling a toad?!"

The beaten warrior stammered: "I meant him!"

This stirred the young man's memory again; he flew into rage, instinctively swung the nearby stool and hurled it at him. Brawls among military families were not uncommon in Jingcheng, but this time the incident was huge.

Both sides had been at a banquet, among their own group, and could still control themselves.

But the neighboring group of noble families had mocked them, saying: "You've trained since childhood, yet you're worse than our brothers—did you learn your Wu Gong in brothels?" The nine men flew into fury; without swords or blades, they swung stools and knocked down over thirty men before regaining confidence in their strength.

The son of the deputy commander of the Night Ride Cavalry lifted his wine jar, tilted his head back, and drank deeply.

The young man Zhou Liu, who habitually swung stools, kept cursing:

"Damn it, he beat us."

"He's a toad—what are we?"

"What are we?"

"Are you calling us worse than toads—stinking dog shit?!"

The military noble stammered: "I didn't say stinking dog shit!"

"How dare you talk back!"

He swung a stool backward and knocked him unconscious.

Zhou Liu suddenly felt this kind of thing was utterly exhilarating.

The son of the deputy commander of the Night Ride Cavalry set down his wine jar and looked at the other military families who had now joined the civil faction of Chancellor Dan Tai Xianming, saying:

"Remember this."

"Next ten-day cycle, we're fighting Li Guanyi again!"

"Until then, I don't want to hear anyone speak ill of him!"

"If anyone does, I, Ye Buyi, won't mind settling it properly with him!"

This seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth was tall and his gaze was calm.

He wielded his long horizontal saber with ease, could flip and maneuver on horseback, ride and shoot arrows, draw his bow with both hands, and never miss a shot within a hundred paces; he could ride fast horses and cleave through three layers of iron armor in a single slash at full speed—he was hailed as an outstanding young warrior of Chen.

Had it not been for Yuwen Lie's words that day, which stirred his pride, he might never have joined the Jinwu Guard.

But Li Guanyi's strength was truly immense.

It was like the mighty generals recorded in history, capable of charging enemy lines.

Brawling within the palace was forbidden; using internal Qi outside the body was an even greater offense—but nine men couldn't hold down one, and it was truly humiliating.

He leaned against the tavern window, drinking, lowered his head, and saw the young man in a blue robe, sword at his waist, riding a chestnut stallion past; Ye Buyi sneered, hesitated, then called out: "Li Guanyi!"

He raised his wine jar awkwardly: "The scenery and wine here are excellent."

"But there's no one to drink with."

"Would you like to join me for a jar?"

Li Guanyi lifted his whip, pointed ahead, and said: "I'm going to the Daoist temple to read."

Ye Buyi sneered.

He thought the man who had knocked down nine of them was lying.

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and said: "But if there were sweets—sweet but not too sweet—"

"Please bring me one."

So Ye Buyi sat by the window and muttered:

"Sweet but not too sweet?"

"Your demands are so high."

Then he turned and shouted: "Didn't you hear?! Go get it!"

Finally, Ye Buyi grabbed a silk-wrapped parcel and threw it down; Li Guanyi caught it, hung it on the side of his chestnut stallion, raised his hand toward the upper floor without a word, then rode off alone. Ye Buyi said nothing either, only lifted his wine jar and drank.

That was all their interaction during this period.

Then Ye Buyi declared they were friends.

Li Guanyi thought about it and agreed.

Even if they were friends, they would still fight.

After entering the Fire Qilin Palace, Li Guanyi initially performed his duties quietly and properly: on duty by day, and when free, he went to the Daoist temple to study arrays under Zu Wenyuan—he did nothing else.

The guards under the Jinwu Guard who served in the Fire Qilin Palace all knew.

This new Jinwu Guard member had been exiled here after brawling with others; they feared he had a bad temper and kept their distance, but gradually realized he was merely quiet, disliked speaking, spent most of his off-hours practicing inside his room, and hated being disturbed during practice.

He had once lost his temper.

So the guards stopped bothering him; fortunately, aside from that, he was easy to get along with.

On this day, Li Guanyi reported for roll call, performed his duties, completed his basic Fire Qilin Palace guard assignment, then went alone to the quiet garden to cultivate. The other guards scattered, afraid to disturb him. Li Guanyi closed his eyes for a long while, sensed no one approaching, and exhaled.

He opened his eyes.

The moment had come.

He had lain low for days, waiting for everyone to accept the personality and habits he displayed—now, all guards would assume he was cultivating and wouldn't come near; the Jinwu Guard would think him a proud scion of a noble family.

Li Guanyi could determine, through the transformations of the Four Symbols Sealing Spirit Array, that the array's core was unoccupied.

Every day, he left at this time and returned an hour later.

This period of time is the opportunity.

Li Guanyi's eyes shimmered with faint qi, within them the fluctuations of energy visible; the 【Four Symbols Sealing Spirit Array】 unfolded in his perception—he was no longer the bewildered, clueless youth who had first encountered this array.

He found the direction.

Then came the array's core—its shifting patterns brushed past the youth's temple in an instant.

This variation was devised by Yao Guang and him.

Within this array, yin-yang, the Five Phases, stellar configurations, and computational classics were entwined; Li Guanyi could see remnants of broken weapons left in perilous zones, even some white bones—traces left by those who had tried to breach the array over the past decade, for its danger kept even palace maids from entering to clean.

Yet this deadly array, in Li Guanyi's eyes, was like a leisurely stroll through a courtyard.

He passed through the outer garden, the pavilions.

Then he entered the palace, avoiding the dead zone where yin-yang and the Five Phases churned out 【Lei Ting】, held his breath, stepped forward—and planted his foot upon the very dead zone he had just passed; in that instant, the dead zone turned to life, while every other place remained dead.

Finally, Li Guanyi reached the interior of the array.

It had taken only the time of one cup of tea.

And the 【Fire Qilin】 had been imprisoned for ten years.

Li Guanyi raised his hand, gently pressing it against the crimson carved wooden door; he paused, then slowly pushed it open—a scorching rush of energy surged forth; his vision whitened, and only gradually did he adjust to the brilliance, then he froze.

The Four Spirits formed the array.

Yet within it, the Five Phases still flowed, and at its heart, the yin-yang diagram spun endlessly.

Eight colossal pillars stood.

Bronze pillars, thick enough to require three men to encircle, stood at the eight trigram positions within the palace; each bore engraved runes, and the floor had been excavated into a sunken depression.

The 【Fire Qilin】 was chained in the center.

But unlike what Li Guanyi had expected—the 【Fire Qilin】 he remembered was a majestic, powerful divine beast—what he now saw was a wreck, its body bound in chains, one horn broken off, its scales engulfed in flickering flames.

Yet when the flames shifted, the countless sword scars etched into the 【Fire Qilin】's scales became visible.

Only when it opened its eyes did its golden-red gaze still carry divine majesty.

Its voice was low: "Jinwu Guard…"

"Hmph, so at last you've come to send soldiers to kill me?"

The chains shrieked; the 【Fire Qilin】 struggled to rise, its gaze icy.

Then it saw this Jinwu Guard, helmet and faceplate on, sit down before it, set aside its sword—and the array began to loosen.

The 【Fire Qilin】's killing intent suddenly halted.

It saw the Jinwu Guard reach out, gripping the golden faceplate.

Then lifted it away—revealing a tear mole at the corner of the eye, and a face with a hint of familiarity.

"Hey, it's me. My name is Li Wanli."

The 【Fire Qilin】 froze, its eyes wide; in a daze, it seemed to see that young man from years past—removing his faceplate, grinning with bold spirit, reaching out his hand; beneath the sunlight, that face blurred, then slowly transformed into the youth before it—Li Guanyi sat before the 【Fire Qilin】, setting down the faceplate.

In its most broken moment, it met the son of an old friend.

The 【Fire Qilin】 was lost in thought, wondering if this was a dream about to end, if that person still lived, would still laugh and speak to it—past and present intertwined.

The youth spoke softly, and in that daze, it seemed as if its old friend had spoken again.

"Hey, 【Fire Qilin】!"

"I've come."